In a highly automated operation such as a large insurance company, documents are often issued as a combination of common text and inserted text. As may be understood, the common text is common to all forms of the issued document, while the inserted text varies in each form of the issued document according to factors relating to the particular circumstances of the issuance of each particular document.
For example, when issuing an insurance policy in connection with property, it is often the case that the property is or is to be encumbered with a mortgage or another obligation in connection with which the property has been pledged to secure the obligation. In such a case, the mortgagee oftentimes requires insertion of particular text into the issued insurance policy as a mortgage clause or the like, usually in a declarations page of the issued policy. As should be understood, the mortgage clause essentially states that the mortgagee is in fact a mortgagee with respect to the property and therefore has certain rights under the terms of the issued policy with respect to the property. In particular, the mortgage clause may have the correct legal name of the mortgagee, a designation that the mortgagee should be construed to include successors and/or assignees, a correct legal address of the mortgagee, an identification of the mortgage, and/or the like. Note here that such information may also be employed to directly bill the mortgagee for the cost of the policy or otherwise notify the mortgagee regarding the policy, if in fact such an arrangement has been made.
As should be understood, the insurance company issuing such a policy with such a mortgage clause with respect to the particular mortgagee may in fact issue many such policies with such mortgage clause with respect to the particular mortgagee, as well as many other policies with other mortgage clauses, each with respect to one of a number of particular mortgagee. Accordingly, it is known that the insurance company may maintain a mortgage clause database with multiple mortgage clauses, each for a particular mortgagee. With such a mortgage clause database, then, issuance of a policy for a particular piece of property with a mortgage thereon only requires identifying the mortgagee for such piece of property. Based on the identification, then, the insurance company does not necessarily contact the identified mortgagee, but instead refers to the mortgage clause database to determine whether the identified mortgagee has an entry therein. If so, a pre-defined mortgage clause for the mortgagee is retrieved from the entry and appropriately inserted as inserted text into the policy issued for the piece of property, and such clause may also be employed to directly bill the mortgagee for the cost of the policy or otherwise notify the mortgagee regarding the policy.
Note, though, that such a mortgage clause database of an insurance company is only useful to the insurance company if the clauses therein are correct. Thus, if the database contains an outdated clause, perhaps because the corresponding mortgagee has changed the corporate form thereof or the address thereof, then use of the outdated clause will eventually be noted by the mortgagee or an agent thereof, which in turn will require that the clause be corrected. As should be understood, such correction requires considerable time and effort, both in human terms and in terms of paperwork, postage, filing, and the like.
Note too that it may be the case that a particular mortgagee has multiple entries in the database, or that multiple entries in the database are ambiguous and may apply to the particular mortgagee. For example, it may be that a second entry was created for the particular mortgagee without deleting a first entry therefore, or it may be that one entry lists the mortgagee as a corporation while another entry lists the mortgagee as a partnership. In fact, it may be that the particular mortgagee has entries for each of several jurisdictions. In any case, and again, if the clause from the wrong entry is used, the wrong clause will eventually be noted by the mortgagee or an agent thereof, which in turn will require that the clause be corrected. Again, such correction requires considerable time and effort, both in human terms and in terms of paperwork, postage, filing, and the like.
Accordingly, a need exists for systems and methods for selecting the correct clause for a document, and specifically the correct mortgage clause to be inserted into an insurance policy. More particularly, a need exists for such systems and methods that select such correct clause from a database that is better maintained than the mortgage clause database as maintained by an insurance company. Even more particularly, a need exists for such systems and methods that select such correct clause from a mortgage clause database maintained by a third party that is better equipped to maintain same.